I have been cooking a lot of red dinners lately, I decided to mix it up a bit with this very bland colored meal on a frosty Wednesday evening. You may or may not know what scrapple is. Technically I am not Pennsylvania Dutch and this is not literally scrapple.

I finished reading the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck this past Sunday. The poverty and hunger depicted are astounding. The mother's need to create a meal from pork fat and flour is wrenching. Scrapple is a mixture of pork scraps, flour and seasoning - typically fried to form a brown crust. These super thin cut pork chops were cooked to evoke that tradition and flavor. A simple handful of white flour in a shallow dish. One tablespoon of butter melting in a pan. Salt and fresh ground pepper on each side as they cook. (Season as you cook and flip, this is a relaxed meal.)

Do not underestimate your nose when cooking or baking. Cook these chops on the first side until you can smell them! (OK, you can take a fork and gently lift one chop to check for the golden brown crust, about five minutes). Flip the chops over, season this side with salt and fresh ground pepper. Cook an additional two - three minutes. Thin chops cook quickly.

Here is our fairly bland winter supper. Red skinned potatoes cooked in the microwave - an advantage that Mother never had. Whole kernel corn. The chops. Kids will clean their plates, I know mine did. My teenager was skeptical but he devoured three! It's a work night and it's a school night. Dinner is consumed, dishes are done and kids are hard at their homework. Keep warm and keep cooking!